The Bees - "Silver Line" (MP3 / video)

If you’re like me (and I know I am), you’ve wasted nearly a decade of your life hoping the Bees will swarm across the Atlantic and into the venue closest to your front door which has the ideal mixture of a quality sound system, an intimate-without-being-crowded floor and an ambiance worthy of a band who (through a cruel series of misfortunes which can only be taken personally at this point) have yet to play a gig in the United States.

The Bees (or A Band of Bees as they’re sometimes known) hail from the Isle of Wight, though three previous (and brilliant) albums have typified their open arms approach to melding musical styles from across the varied world spectrum. But their last full release, Octopus, dropped more than three years ago. When they followed that by pulling out of a Coachella appearance in 2008, it left their faithful wondering what the heck was on the horizon.

And now, it seems, our collective prayers have been answered, as the Bees are putting the finishing touches on their fourth album proper, Every Step’s a Yes. And because we’ve been such patient and good little boys and girls, the Bees have made available “Silver Line”, a charmingly pastoral song with a charmingly low-fi video. Worryingly for anyone hoping the album’s release is imminent, the song contains the line, “And I tell you that we won’t be rushed.”

But keep those chins up, Bees enthusiasts: Live shows are already underway, and perhaps those of us in the colonies will finally get the chance to dust off our best “Chicken Payback” moves in a live setting.